Pretenses
by kuriousita
Summary: Follow our senshi as they experience joys and sorrows, loss and gain.
1. Senshias

Author's Note:

I don't own Sailor Moon.

Serena! Get your butt in here and help me and Ames finish this up!"

Serena faltered mid-step and there her eyes heavenward. She turned about and stomped into the house. Stopping at the parlor entry, she grounded her fists into her hips as she scowled menacingly. Her scowl went noticed, however, as the two dark-headed girls on the parlor floor continued to fold the laundry.

"WHY, did we have to do laundry today?" Serena whined as she waded through the sunshine-scented clothing strewn haphazardly on the couch, easy chair and floor.

"Because" bit out one raven-headed girl "we ran out of clean underwear, freak. Now hurry up before Lita and Mina get here!" The girl struggled with a fitted sheet "I hate these things…"

The petite, silvery haired girl continued growling. The other girl who had yet to speak up hid her smirk and the three folded and folded….and folded.

Ami blew a bluish-dark lock away from her face as she reflected on her strange "family." They had been together for years and Ami almost couldn't remember anybody but them. Almost. They were all orphans who had met at Madame Steel-Spine Orphanage. Actually the stern matron's name was Stella Spinoza but the girls secretly her Steel-Spine in honor of her unrelenting discipline and strictness. Lita and Rei both entered the orphanage at seven and five respectively. They quickly formed an alliance to defend the orphans from the neighborhood children. Children who tormented the orphans. Children who had parents and didn't know any better. They were looked up to with their quick tempers and kind hearts. Lita had lost her parents in a plane crash and Rei's grandfather had died. Mina came in a two years later armed with a loud and cheerful exterior. Rei and Lita befriended her but discovered that Mina was recitent to discuss her parents or family. Nothing could shake her cheerfulness and she was quick to brush off any prying attempts. Six years later, Serena and Amena arrived at the orphanage. Here Ami abruptly ended her mental meanderings and concentrated on folding the clothes.

"Were home!" Mina called out. She and Lita were standing in the foyer with armfuls of paper bags. Lita rolled her eyes when she heard a squeal from the parlor. Mina braced herself for the impact and was not disappointed when a blur silver hair and legs collided against her. Lita chuckled at the ball of energy and trekked to the kitchen.

"Go get the groceries from Rust Bucket, turbo." Lita said as she put her load down on the kitchen table.

"Diod you get me anything? Huh? Huh? Huh? Didja, didja, didja?" Serena bounced from Mina to Lita and tugged on Lita's arm.

"Well" Mina broke in "we um…got you some celey, broccoli, eggs, flour, you know, your favorite things."

"YES! Flour and eggs, my ABSOLUTE favorites!" Serena exclaimed as she zoomed out to the car.

"You guys are nuts." Lita shook her head as she and Mina began putting things up in the cupboard.

"Hey Rei! Ames! Did the laundry get done?" Mina shouted to the parlor.

Rei and Ami walked to the kitchen.

"We just put everything away." Rei replied. Ami poured herself a glass of V-8 and plopped down on stool by the kitchen island. Rei grimaced at Ami's drink choice. Amil primly sipped her drink and turned her nose up at Rei. Serena joined them in the kitchen with the rest of the groceries. As Serena, Lita and Mina put the groceries away, Rei turned the tiny, kitchen t.v. and started flipping the channels.

Serena silently gathered her courage and cleared her throat.

"Ahem, so..um..Lita, hows the job going?"

"Oh, great! The other chefs are so fun to talk to except that creepy busboy won't leave me alone. Its not like he has anything to do in the kitchen. I don't know why he has to be in ther. And that hot server. He reminds me of my old boyfriend, you know, Jim? But only because he says "Chicken alfredo" that way, you know how Jim used to say it. And oh…" she was unable to finish as Serena broke in.  
"That's great!" She turned to Mina and cleared her throat again.

"Hows the job Mina?" Mina stiffened for a second and continued putting the cans of food away.

"Its fine" she said nonchalantly.

Lita looked at Serena questioningly but Serena forged on.

"So I talked to Vinny, you know, Vinny? And he said that I had the figure and the look…"

"To do what?" Mina said abruptly, turning from the cupboard she had been meticulously filling.

"Um..the look to um..work. For him. At…"

"No!"

"No? No what? I don't have the look…"

"No you are not going to work at _En Nihilio"_

"Why not? You work there!" Serena said exasperatingly.

"Just. No."

"Mina, I'm almost eighteen, I…"

"Listen, trust me, I work thee. You don't want to work there. I'm not say you don't have the talent. Just please. Trust me on this. One of us working there is enough. Concentrate on school, please. Jobs com later."

Serena crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. Mina took on the same stance and they glared at each other…until Mina crossed her eyes and stuck out her tongue. Serena barked out a laugh and conceded.

Lita exhaled a breath and dryly said in an announcer voice "And that, my friends, was the Battle of the Blooooondes…." She dragged out the last word, reminiscent of the announcers of those fake wrestling shows they hated.

Both blondes turned to Lita and blew raspberries into her face.

Lita grimaced. "Lovely" she stated as she wiped spittle from her face. Rei, Ami, Serena and Mina laughed at her as they all unloaded the groceries. Together.


	2. Rei

Disclaimer: For the last time, I DON"T OWN SAILOR MOON! Okay, maybe not the last time.

"For the last time jerkwad, leave me alone or I swear I will kick your ass." Rei ground out.

The recipient of her insult and threat stood in front of her with an infuriating grin.

"Come on Rei, I promise that you will enjoy yourself. No, I KNOW that you will enjoy yourself. Loosen up girl. I tell you…"

"Jayden McMillan! I told you once and I'll tell again..and again… and AGAIN! I. Don't. Want. To. Go. Out. With. You! Capisce?" She stomped away. Her face turned red and she clenched her fists when she heard the arrogant man yell out.  
"One day Rei. One day!"

"Insolent piece of crap..frickin stupid stinkin…." She muttered as she turned the corner.

Jayden, better know as Jay, stood there staring at the spot he last saw her.

"Some day…" He whispered and walked the opposite direction. His thoughts of a raven-haired hellcat were interrupted as he heard a cheerful "Hiya!"

He jumped at the sound and turned to the direction of the maker of the sound. His eyes clashed with a pair of clear cerulean eyes in a head that was cocked to the side.

"Have you ever watched Finding Nemo?"

"Huh?" Jay replied, confused by the topic the silver-headed imp threw at him.

"Have. You. Ever. Watched. Finding. Nemo?" Serena enunciated for him.

"What is it with you Senshias and your enunciation?"

"Well have you?" He shook his head in irritation. He replied in the affirmative though he expressed his confusion as to why it was important.

"Well. Do you remember the blue fish Dory?" A nod. "Well…just think of me as your own personal Dory." A baffled look answered the statement. "Remember her song? Just keep swimming, just keep swimming..swimming, swimming." Serena bawled out shaking her head to an unheard accompaniment.

Still another baffled look. " Just keep swimming. Don't give up on Rei. She 's stubborn and she has been hurt before that's why she acts like she hates you. You. My discouraged Marlin, are a threat to her. " Jay gave Serena's words some thought.

"Why would I be a threat?"

"Its like this. People who are not worth her time, what she says you are, she does not even waste time on. She sees you as a person who has potential. To get close to her. And to hurt to her. Capisce?"

Understanding dawned in the blond man's blue eyes. He grinned goofily and grabbed the petite girl into a clumsy bear hug.  
"Thanks!"

"Erm…Jay?"  
"Yeah?" He replied still crushing her small form to himself, his eyes closed in contented bliss.

"I can't…um…really breathe."

He immediately dropped Serena; unfortunately, she was unprepared for the sudden release and fell right on her derriere. She peered up at him with a pout.  
"Sorry, sorry." He pulled her up. "Hey. I'll see you around babe." He started walking away when he felt a tug on his sleeve.

"You owe me." Serena stated.

"Huh?"

"You. Owe.."

"I heard you. Whaddaya mean I owe you?"

"Well I have to get some compensation for my good works."

Jay burst out in laughter. Serena stood there with an indulgent smile on her face and finally said when the laughs were fewer in frequency.

"I like chocolate."

"Do you know the Arcade?"

"Yes! Its my favoritest place. I love their shakes. They…" The excited girl continued chattering as she pulled Jay in the direction of said arcade. He shook his head and followed after her.


	3. Announcement

Author's note: I do not own anything but for my toothpaste and underwear. If you sue me, you won't get much.

BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG and on went the obnoxious noise throughout the house. It was soon accompanied by an obnoxious and very loud voice proclaiming "Senshia, Senshia, Meeting in the parlor. Meeting in the parlor!" The owner of the voice put down the obnoxious-noise-maker, two Teflon cookie sheets and sat down on the easy chair with a satisfied smile as she heard tromping on the stairs.

"Whats up Leets?" Mina asked as she curled up at the end of the large green sofa in the parlor.

"Wait until everyone is hee-ere" Lita sang as she bounced on the easy chair.

"No, tell me. You know you want to tell me. Tell me….tellllllll mmmmeeeeee….." Mina said enticingly as she waved her hands in front of Lita's face. Lita swatted her hands away and snorted.

"Get away from me you freak."

When all the Senshias were assembled in the room. Lita smiled at all of them and waited for them to settle down. After waiting for what seemed like five minutes for Rei and Serena to stop poking each other in the stomachs, Lita finally cleared her throat.

"Ahem…Excuse me. Excuse me. May I have your attention please? I have announcement to make."

"No, really? I thought you wanted to show us your hangnail." Rei retorted as Serena chortled

"No comments from the Peanut Gallery, please. Shut up." Lita glared at said Peanut Gallery and when she was satisfied that she had everyone's attention. She smiled.

"I applied to Juuban Culinary Arts as you all know and I have my letter here and…."

Lita did not get a chance to finish her sentence as she was tackled by four, screaming bodies. Lita caught fragments of "Oh Lita." "You got accepted!" "You rock" "Yay, yay, yay!" "Woot, woot, woot!" The latter phrase surprisingly coming out of Ami's mouth.

"Guys…." Lita whined "you stole my thunder! I was supposed to…" but she was drowned out again by her screaming sisters dogpiling her. "Ugh. Get off me. Gosh. You tubs of lard!" She gathered her strength and stood up and spilled the bodies onto the floor. She stepped over the pile and stood on the sofa and shouted "Guys! Shut up and let me read the letter!. Ahem. Miss Lita Karlson Senshia. We have read your resume, considered your recommendations and saw that…blah blah blah….We have decided to accept you (again, the squeals). Please read and sign the Statement of Agree…blah blah blah. _Sigh_. Can you believe it?"

Serena squeaked from her position. "Of course we believe it. You're a Senshia. Of course they'de accept you. We are the best family in the whole, whole, whole wide world over!"

"Okay, Miss Enthusiasm. Can it. But guys its in Tokyo, Japan."

A veil of silence fell over the group. Mina's face became contemplative. Serena's eyes enlarged as the implications hit her. Mina spoke up.

"Well, you'll have to go." She saw the sad look on the three younger girls' faces. "Come on guys, she's not going to Venus. We can email her, we can write her, we can call her, and we have that camera webbie thing."

"Web camera" Ami supplied.

"Yeah, that. Hey, remember that money we've saved up? I mean, we don't need anything immediately and we've all been itching for a vacation and we all have substantial savings and we.." Mina was cut off as the tallest of the group grabbed her in a bear hug.

"That is a great idea!"

The younger girls appeared to be thinking over it.

"Hey, yeah and they have good shopping in Tokyo, so I've heard." Rei said.

"School is ending soon and I would not object to spending my summer in such a place. The history is wonderful and the culture so rich. The shrines, the museums…" Ami started drooling.

"And the food. Can't forget the mouth-watering Japanese food! Yes, lets do it!" Serena piped up.

Lita shook her head at her family's seemingly spur-of-the-moment-planning.

"Alrighty then. Lets do this."


	4. Lita's Encounter

Author's note: I promise the story will speed up soon.

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon.

In August, Lita stood back and surveyed her newly acquired apartment. Her empty apartment. Her sisters had taken Tokyo by storm and left the local boys drooling in their wake. They returned to their respective places leaving Lita alone in Tokyo. It was August three and she was starting classes the next day. She shook her head when she thought of how fast the summer went by. Lita shut off the all the lights and turned the lamp on in her bedroom and prepared herself for bed.

At six o' clock in the morning, she rolled out of bed and shut her alarm off. As she was taking a shower, she heard the phone ring.

"Who the heck would call me so early in the morning?" She fumbled with her towel as she ran to pick the phone up.

"What!"  
"Um…no hello for your favoritest, favoritest sister?"

"Serena! What are you doing up so early?"

"What are you talking about? Its four in the evening."  
"Oh I forgot about the time change." Lita cradled the phone between her ear and shoulder as she dried herself off.

"Oh Lita, I wish you were here! I tried cooking breakfast this morning to try to cheer everyone up but, um…I burnt the water."

Lita burst out in laughter picturing Serena's face screwed up in consternation, confused in the kitchen.

"Hey, if you look in the second cupboard to the left…"  
"The one with rolling pinny thing?"

"Yah, I left a bunch of my recipes in there on a note card and easy to read. Easy enough for you and Mina…"  
"Hey, what are you saying?"

"I didn't say anything. I'm not the one who cracked eggs in to the cookie dough and left the shells in."  
"Hey that was a long, long time ago"  
"Um try, five months ago."

"Whatever." Serena exhaled in mock frustration "I was just calling, like the good sister I am, to see how you were, and you had to go and throw insults at me and all…I hate to resort to this. I'll have to make you talk to Rei." Here, she sighed a sigh of disappointment, and Lita could almost see her head shaking and her brow wrinkling. Lita heard Rei mumble in the background…

"Give me that phone" thud, Lita surmised that Serena was probably whacked by the Resident Hothead, as the gang liked to call her.

"Hey Lita, whassup?"

"Um, well I am going to put my green underwear on, you know with the pink flow…"  
"Okay, TMI….whassup…in general?"

"I'm getting ready to go to school"

"First day huh. Hey, how about I call you back later, like tomorrow morning or something. Catch up with you when you're not so busy"

"Sure. Love you Rei. Tell the Hooligans I love them."  
"Will do."

Lita felt infinitely better for that little touch of home.

At seven thirty, she clambered into her new little Japanese car and drove down the street to the school.

Her first class, Basic Food Knowledge, went relatively well. A bit of a drag, but good. She looked forward to Culinary Arts Practicum at four. She had been assigned to work at a local restaurant. She would start out bussing tables, later waitressing and moving her way up the "food service chain." She walked up to the restaurant doors and took a deep breath. She walked up to the hostess and told her her name.  
"Oh yes Rih-ta?" the young lady said haltingly. Lita smiled reassuringly and the girl led her to the back office. As they neared the manager's office, Lita heard two angry voices issuing from behind the doors.

The hostess looked at Lita and motioned to a chair next to the door. The hostess then stepped into the room where the shouting abruptly stopped. The door swung open and Lita saw a foot step from behind the door. The foot was followed by very long leg and powerful thighs encased in standard chef's white. She followed the muscular thighs up to a small waist and broad shoulders brushed by a long, brown pony tail. The muscular man was clenching a chef's hat and as he said a few words into the office, he shoved the hat onto his head and turned to face Lita. Lita inhaled when his deep hazel eyes met her own green ones. For a second, Lita saw nothing else. The man blinked and moved past her into the kitchen. Lita exhaled a breath she hadn't realized she was holding in.

_Hoo boy. Hatcha-cha…_ her musings were interrupted when a soft tenor voice called her name.

"Rih- ta?" the small Japanese man asked. Lita nodded and stuck her hand out.

"Yes I am Li-ta…" slightly emphasizing the L though she knew that she was in Japan and Ls were really non-existent. "I am very excited about working here."


	5. Jay's Progression and Regression

Author's note: After you read this chapter, you will notice that I have this eye fetish. I'm not a closet romantic. I am a romantic. So the whole "his eyes met her eyes and the world faded away" bit will be used a lot in this fic. And I will now formally induct myself into Fan-Fiction Aspiring Authors Co. by asking you all for reviews. ..Reviews please?

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.

Meanwhile, back on the farm….

It had been a few months since that summer. Ami and Serena were pretty settled in their new roles as freshmen in Wakefield High. Ami was established as a genius, but a nice genius. Serena made new friends immediately due to her bubbly nature. Rei smiled as she thought of her little sisters' quick adjustment. She turned the corner in the hallway and ran into Jay. She quickly turned and started booking it the other way. Unfortunately, his long arm reached out and latched onto her wrist.

"So we are on the Homecoming Committee together and I was wonderi.."

"No." Rei said and pulled her wrist out of his grip. She started walking again but was hindered when the tall blonde ran to stand in front of her.

"Please. Just give me a chance Rei. Besides, it would be more convenient anyway since we are on the committee together and…"

"Chad's on the committee."

".. we would…wait. What? What does Chad have to do with anything?"

"He used the same argument you are using right now. First. And so." Rei shrugged and continued her way.

"Well do you want to go grab something to eat? "

"Do you never give up?"

"Um…sure. Sometimes. When my sister beats me on the head and she won't give up the last cookie. Never take the last cookie from my sister. She's a raving lunatic."

Rei stopped at her locker and tried to hide her smile. As she opened her locker and piled her books in, Jay rambled on about his sister, cookies, cars, Rei's hair, Serena's ravenous appetite and the weather. They stood outside the entrance of Wakefield and he suddenly stopped and looked at her. They stood for what seemed like an eternity and stared into each others eyes.

"So. Um do you want to go eat somewhere?"

Rei felt butterflies in her belly and tried to quash them. She smiled up at him and nodded.

His face faltered for a second when he saw her smile. He had never seen her smile. Her violet eyes sparkled and she had a dimple on her left cheek, close to her full lips. She had those unique lips where the upper lip slightly jutted out over her full bottom lip. They were so…

"Sure."

"Really?" He jolted back into reality at her response.

"Yeah. Sure. Free food, who am I to turn that down?"

"Well, I have been asking for the past…"  
"Do you want me to change my mind." She stated rather than asked.

"Ladies first please."

Later that night, as Rei was studying for her Trig test the next day, Serena ran into the room and bounced on to the bed.

"How was it? Huh? Huh? Huh?"

"It was okay."

"Okay? The hottest guy on Wakefield takes you out to dinner and all you can say is okay? Okay? Come on Rei."

"It was fine Serena."

"Rei."

"Serena, I said it was fine. Now let me study for my test." Her jaw clenched but she gave a smile to reassure Serena, and knew it was futile. Serena knew her too well and could see through her façade.

"Rei, give him a chance. He's such a good guy."

"Hey, Reen. Its fine. I had a good time. And now I want to study for my test."

Serena knew that pushing the issue would cause Rei to build more walls.

"Okay. Have a good night. Love ya."

"Hm…"

Frankly, Rei did not have just a good time. She had a wonderful time. After some initial discomfort, Rei opened up a little. They talked about everything under sun. Jay was, to put it tritely, the perfect gentleman. He pulled out her chair (they went to Wendys) he got her drink for her, opened the doors for her, made her laugh so hard she cried. They did not go the night without fighting but it was a good fighting. The kind that affirmed good feelings, _if there could ever be such a thing_, Rei mused. He was a comforting body. That's was scared her. He was too much of a comforting presence. In the weeks that followed, Rei did her best to avoid Jay and succeeded at it. She pulled the strings so that she could work in a different group on the committee. Homecoming finally came. The twins were very excited. Well. Serena was excited enough for herself and Ami. They had consented to go with two of their guy friends. Mina (and Lita over the phone) extracted promises that they would all behave, stay away from heavy drinking, strange, unidentified pills and powders, and hotel rooms. There was no reluctance on Ami, Serena or Rei's parts. All knew and what those kinds of lifestyles resulted in.

"I want you to come home at 12:00 sharp!" Mina sharply said as she pulled on Serena's long silver hair. Ami was meticulously polishing her toes while Rei was putting on her dress.

"You do realize that there are after parties that we are planning on going to?" Rei dryly said as she struggled with a strap. "Ugh, Reen, come help me tie this down. Its so complicated. Shit!"

"Watch your language." Serena said primly turning her nose up at Rei's grimace. "And I'll come help you as soon as the hairdresser from hell deems my hair sufficiently pulled in every direction and my scalp numb."

"Shut up you!" Mina patted Serena's messy updo and nodded in satisfaction. "Okay. Done."

Serena smoothed down her "icy-blue-silk-organza-strapless-gown-with-a-hand-pleated-bodice-and-a-satin-ribbon" (as she lovingly referred to her gown) and helped Rei tie down the straps of her black taffeta dress.

"You can go to the after parties. Just remember our discussions."

"Yes, mother." The three girls intoned solemly.

Finally their dates arrived and Mina played her mom role very convincingly, puttering around, straitening dresses, wiping off mascara, taking pictures and threatening the boys.


	6. Jay and Rei

Author's note: I do not own Sailor Moon. I would like to apologize that I skip over some things. I am writing a fan-fiction story, not a novel. So, it will be short and condensed and feel fast. Anyway. Enjoy!

"Chad, stop drinking that stuff."

"But it makes me feel soooo goooood…" Chad slurred and leaned heavily on Rei.

"Ugh, I can't believe this is happening." Rei said impatiently as she carefully steered Chad to a chair. She signaled to two of his football buddies. They headed over immediately.

"Hey, can you take him home?" She indicated to the drunken Chad teetering on the chair.

"What about you Rei?" one blond jock asked as he and the other guy carefully hoisted Chad up.

"I have my car here. I had a feeling this would happen."

"Okay stay safe!" the jock threw over his shoulder as he and his friend dragged Chad from the room.

It was 3:30ish and several hours since the prom had ended. Everything went successfully; it was one of the best proms that Wakefield High had ever held. No streakers, no spiked punch and no fighting couples. Rumor had it that Rei had threatened all the trouble makers with dire and painful threats. Rei did not say anything either way. At midnight the Homecoming had broken up, the king and queen crowned and all were done with behaving. The night had just begun. Ami and Serena had left as soon as the prom ended on the arms of their dates. Serena was all mingled and danced out and Ami had a Transcendental Function exam in two weeks that she had to study for. Rei smiled when she thought of her overachieving sister and thanked the powers that be that her twin sisters were such well-behaved girls. Rei attributed their well-behavior to the fact that they had grown up in such difficult circumstances. Frankly, the girls had no time to party or mess around. Because they were orphans, they supported each other fervently and did not let anything get in the way of that.

By now, Rei was merrily making her way down the almost empty road. She turned up her CD player (she was a closet Backstreet Boys band) and hummed to Nick's tenor voice. As she drove down the road she saw a red car sitting on the side of the road. She drove further and encountered a familiar looking broad shouldered blond walking down the road. She coasted to a snail's pace and stuck her head out the window.  
"Um…problems Jay?"

"Rei! I just run out of gas. My sister didn't fill it up and when I get home I'm gonna…."

"Do you need a ride?"

"...uh, sure. I'd appreciate a ride. "He hopped into the passenger seat.

Jay cleared his throat, "So, um….how are you?"

"Good. Good."

"Did you have a good time?"

"Yeah."

"Where's Chad?"

"Incapacitated."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

After the brilliant train of conversation ended, Jay looked out the window and started playing with the seatbelt. The rest of the ride passed in uncomfortable silence, until the car sputtered out a strange, sick-sounding noise.

"Shhhhit. Don't do this to me now. Rust Bucket. Shit!"

"Whoa. Potty mouth. Whassa matter?"

"Oh, every once in a while, Rust Bucket" she pounded on the wheel to indicate so named car "decides to take a vacation." Rei coasted to a stop on the side of the highway. Thirty minutes later, Rei stalked around the car in her voluminous black dress to kick at the wheel.

"Um, pretty sure that's not going to work."

"Urgh! Why tonight?"

Jay shrugged his shoulders and looked out on the deserted road. He walked to the other side of the car and sat down. He listened to Rei's agitated pace and finally called out.

"Come and sit down. You're not going to do anything by wearing your pretty shoes out."

She stopped for a moment and sighed in resignation. She slowly made her way to Jay and gingerly sat down next to him, smoothing out the dress around her.

"You look nice tonight."

"Thanks."

"Why did you avoid me?"

Rei cringed when he got to the heart of the matter. She shrugged. He pressed on.

"I had such a good time and I felt like we really connected. Okay that sounds stalkerish, but you are one of the easiest people to talk to."

"Really? Most people avoid me or something."

"Well, once I got pass the 'I'm Rei, be-afraid-be-very-afraid' persona, I l..liked the person I discovered. Why the façade? Why the pretense?"

"I…." Rei struggled to answer him and couldn't. He reached out and caressed her chin. She bit her lip when he turned her face towards him. "I c…I can't. I don't…"

He placed a finger on her lips and shushed her. He quickly pulled her into a hug and inhaled the scent of her hair.

"I want to know the real Rei. I want to…I just…" here, Jay was speechless. He finally grabbed her chin and stared into her eyes. Rei couldn't remember who moved first. She remembered wanting, aching to reach forward, but she remembered the look on his face. Yearning. Something else she did not want to acknowledge yet. Nevertheless, their lips collided in a hard and searching kiss. Rei didn't remember how long the kiss lasted either. In fact she could hardly remember anything but the fact that she felt like she was flying, however clichéd that sounded. She pulled from the kiss and they were both still. Breathing hard and eyes still closed.

"Please Rei."

And that's all it took. Rei burst into tears and threw her arms around Jay's shoulders. She cried long and hard. He murmured meaningless phrases to her as he rocked her back and forth. When she finally cried herself out, she apologized and smiled when he handed her a kerchief. She wiped her eyes and they talked. Really talked. Jay found out why she was so standoffish. Rei was an orphan. He did not know that. He also found out that she was technically not an orphan. Her father was still alive and so was her mother, but she did not acknowledge them as they did not acknowledge her. Her grandfather had died and the social workers could not locate her parents. Apparently they just dropped off the face of the earth. When Rei was thirteen however, she discovered that her parents were back. In the public scene. Not together. Jay was shocked to realize that Rei's father was a prominent politician and her mother a famous actress. His heart ached for her when he realized that her parents did not search for her and probably did not realize that she was placed in an orphanage. He held her close that night, or morning, and told her about his family and secretly thanked God that he had a family. She laughed when he told her about him and his older brother's antics, their pranks on their sister, and his quirky parents.

"Hey! Hey wake up dahhhhhhlings! Hello. Hellooooo." Rei and Jay jolted awake and peered at the insufferable disturber of peace. It was Mina. In a taxi-cab. On the way to the Auto shop, Rei ignored Mina's pointed stares at her and Jay. That night in the Senshia house, with Lita on the speaker phone, Rei established that yes, she was going out with Jay (insert squeals here) and no, he did not give her anything to drink. The Senshias established that they were happy, ecstatic, no, exhilarated, for Rei.


	7. LIfe at the Senshias

"Miss Amena! Miss Amena Senshia!" "Miss Amena" turned to the speaker and smiled.

"Yes Mr. Bhramaputra?"

"Oh, yes Ms. Amena. I have favorite to ask of you." He stated in his stilted Indian accent.

"Favor?"   
"Yes. That. We haff a new student. We was wondering if you could show him around. He has much of the same classes as you. Very much a much-achiever."

Ami smiled and affirmed that she would show the new student around and that she was glad to do so.

She waited by the locker while Mr. Bhramaputra ran to retrieve the new student. A few minutes later, the Indian teacher turned around the corner with a slim blond boy in tow. He was straightening his backpack strap and Ami noticed that he had long, beautiful, luscious strawberry blond hair. _Whoa. Where did that come from?_ Ami mused about her strange thoughts about the kid's hair. He looked up and caught her eye. They smiled at each other. He reached his hand out and introduced himself as "Zohar" in a deep, soft voice.

Bhramaputra beamed and jumped in. "Verry good name. Very good. Means "brilliance" in Hindi. Very nice."

Zohar smiled and turned to Ami.

"Um, just call me Zo. Kinda like Joe. But um…not." He stopped and fiddled with his backpack strap.

"My name is Amena, but you can call me Ami. Its very nice to meet you. Your first class is U.S. History? So is mine." Zo smiled and they both turned to walk in the direction of the classroom. Bhramaputra beamed after them. "Very nice." He said cheerily.

"Hey Mina. Can you sign this? Remember the job I told you about? The owner of the arcade, Andrew, oh...Andrew…" Serena trailed off as she thought of the cute arcade manager with All-American good looks.

"Ahem."

"Oh, yeah. So, I talked to him and he said he needed someone to help him man the booths after school while he took care of the bar."

Mina signed the sheet and sighed in relief. She had been glad that Serena had given up the idea of working at _En Nihilo_. Not only was she too young. She was….too young. Mina cleared her head of thoughts of _En Nihilo _and concentrated on Lita's recipe card. It had been two years since Lita had left. The house felt empty and Mina missed Lita and Rei's company. Rei was now at Columbia with Jay. She was working on a Bachelor's in History. She wanted to go to Law School later. _And Mina?_ Mina thought bitterly_ She's stuck in a rut. And she can't get out._ Mina had tried other jobs but because of her lack of college education, there were not to many options. She just wanted to get out of Vinny's grasp. She thought of the toughened old waitresses that worked the bar. They never got out of the rut. They were hard as nails. She thought of the time she and Lita had passed by a girl on sidewalk who was randomly kicking posts, signs, rocks in her way with a livid expression on her face. Lita wanted to go up to her and ask "Excuse me, are you angry at the world?" Thankfully, Mina restrained her. _Only one more year, the twins will graduate. Then I'll get out. I will get out._ She turned her attention once again, back to her recipe.

Serena skipped to the arcade, smiling at strangers on the sidewalk and steering around bugs and worms on the way, feeling generally benevolent. She swung the doors wide open and plopped herself on a stool. Andrew walked to he and she couldn't help but gaze at his sparkling baby blues and achingly beautiful lips stretched out into a smile.

"… tract with you?"

" Wha..hu?"

"The contract. Did you get your mom to sign it. "

Serena inwardly cringed. "Uh, yeah. Something like that."

"She has a different last name." He said absently, wiping the table while reading the contract.

"Uh," Serena scratched the back of her head "she's my guardian."

"Oh." He looked up and sensed her closing off. "Okay. Great! Can you start on Friday? At 3:05?"

Serena smiled and forcefully pushed back her thoughts from her past into the present. "Yes. 3:05. See you then!." Without a glance backward, she meandered out the arcade and down the street.

Puzzled by her sudden mood change, Andrew stood there for a while and then shook his head. He looked around the crowd in the arcade. A huge grin broke out on his face and he raised his dirty rag in a salute towards the door.

"Hey Darien!"

A.N. Yeah Darien and Zoicite arrive! Um…don't own anything blah blah. You know the drill.


	8. Release

Disclaimer: Don't own Sailor Moon, Mulan or

Mina inwardly grimaced as she walked to the table. It was a table full of rowdy men, getting off work for the weekend and looking to blow their paychecks on some "booze and babes, " as they so crudely put it. She took a deep breath and pasted on a fake but beautiful smile on her face.  
"Hello gentlemen. I'm Mina and I'll be your "Babe" tonight. If you need anything," here she seductively licked her lips, screaming in protest inwardly "at all, don't hesitate to call me. Okay?" The men smiled suggestively and elbowed each other. One by one, they gave her their orders and one by one they groped her, sat her on their laps and snaked their hands up her skirt. She continued smiling and took down their orders. She walked toward the bar and Vinny saw her coming. She slammed down her tablet and tore off the order. As she handed Vinny the orders he sneered.

"Now, now Mina. The customer's won't be pleased if they see you angry."

She clenched her fist and schooled her tight face into a fake grin for the third time that night.

"Yes Vinny."

"Think of you twin sisters."

Mina cringed and her shoulders slumped in defeat. She trudged to the next table to take the next order as Vinny smirked behind the bar.

_What am I doing here? What am I doing here? I hate this place! _ She thought to herself. It was 3:50 A.M. when she finally got out of work. As she walked out the door, she wiped her face off with a wet cloth. Her cakey make-up came off and she smiled ruefully when the thought of _Mulan _and her "Reflection" song came to her. All of a sudden, a hand reached out and muffled her mouth. Another hand grasped the back of her dress and dragged her into a dark alley. _How creative. A dark alley. Probably rat-infested. Throw in a couple trash cans and a few beer bottles. _She came out of her anal thinking mode and immediately started to kick and punch. He grunted when she elbowed him in the stomach. She started running fast as she could, cursing the high heels that adorned her feet and impeded her attempt at break-neck speed. Heavy steps sounded behind her and she let out a strangled cry when the person behind her grabbed a handful of her long blonde hair and jerked. Her eyes watered with pain and again she turned around to kick her attacker. The assailant had tackled her to the ground and pinned her with a heavy body. She heard a rasping voice in her ear.

"Fight me, will you. I like feisty women."

"Bastard!" She shouted and immediately regretted it as he grabbed her hair again and slammed her skull into the cement.

"I'm going to flip you over and you're…"  
He didn't finish his sentence because Mina had somehow squirmed her arm out from under him and delivered an impossibly painful blow to his side.

"Monster." She spat out, "I have a black belt and I will use it. Get off me." She struggled again. She was still pinned under him, he was too heavy, and she struggled with all of her might to get out from underneath him. He regained his breath enough to rasp out,

"You don't get it bitch, I'll kill you. I've got a knife. I'll kill you." Mina froze when she felt cold metal at her back. "Now. I'm going to flip you over and you are going to do what I tell you. Understand." Mina could not reply. All the assailant heard was her fast, panicked breathing. She was clenching the hand that had gotten loose. She managed a slight affirmative nod and he eased his weight off her a little. He flipped her around and then straddled her hips. He indeed had a knife and was holding it in his right hand, dangerously close to her neck.

"So pretty. " He crooned and started tracing patterns on her face and chest with his knife. She took shallow breaths, trying to avoid the knife pricking her skin. He continued crooning and murmuring perverted things. She closed her eyes and turned her head to the side. _God. Help me._ That's all she managed to think. She began assessing the surrounding area ignoring the man's fumbling with her clothing. Her face was toward a wall with graffiti on it. She detachedly noted that the graffiti stated "Don't Hate'" Presumably, the street was on her left but she dared not turn her head. Suddenly she heard a deep voice moaning out a song. It was a very off-tune attempt at the folk song "What Would You Do With a Drunken Sailor," complete with a Irish accent. Mina's heart rate speeded up when she heard steps coming closer to her and her attacker.

"You dere. Wha ya duin to de preddy leddy?" The man on her straightened up but Mina's body slumped. Her rescuer was drunk. "Gerroffer!" Mina turned to the voice and made out a shadow swaying its way over to her.  
"Get out of here, if you know what's good for you, louse." The man on top of her groused.

"Na-uh-uh." The drunken man taunted childishly. "You ged ou'"

The weight on Mina's body suddenly disappeared when her assailent stood up abruptly and angrily stalked to the drunk man. Mina jumped up and took on a defensive stance. She was surprised, however, when the drunken man suddenly straightened and sent a few quick strikes to the man wielding the knife. The man slumped over and the knife fell to the ground with a clatter. Tears gathered in Mina's eyes and she stood there shocked. The drunk man walked straight to her and said in clear, British accent,

"Are you all right?"

Mina broke down. She was hysterical. The man quickly grabbed her before she fell and winced when she stiffened in his arms.

"Don't worry poppet. You will be fine. Come along now. Out of this dark and decrepit place." He guided her out into the street and directed her towards a small fast-food restaurant. He seated her and left the booth. He immediately came back with a bowl of ice and some hot tea. He clucked as he wrapped some ice in a cloth and pressed it against her face. Through it all, Mina sobbed. When she finally calmed down, she tentatively sipped the tea. She drank the whole cup and placed it in the saucer, her hands shaking causing the cup and saucer to clatter. She finally looked on her rescuer's face. He had kind, light blue eyes.

"Thank you."

"Oh, posh, it was nothing."

"You saved my life."

He smiled and leaned forward. "Drink your tea darling. The police are going to arrive soon." He smiled when she gestured to the empty cup. He moved to get her a new cup when she shook her head. Police sirens sounded in the streets and the rescuer smiled.

"Don't you worry about that bastard. I called your American Police and there they are. Dammed efficient things those men are. I'm working with them, you see. Just a minute." He signaled to the people standing behind the counter and indicated that they keep an eye on her. He was back a few minutes later with a dark uniformed policeman. The night was long for Mina. Her head pounded and her body was sore. She was examined and pronounced fine and the policemen took her statement. When Mina walked out of the office she saw her rescuer engrossed in a conversation with a red-headed cop in his mid-forties. The rescuer looked up and smiled. He gestured to the cop and stood to join Mina.

"Artemis," the red-head called.

"Yes." Her rescuer, evidently Artemis, said.

"How long you stayin'?"  
"Just enough to look up a few contacts and research a bit."

The red-head nodded in understanding and then smiled. "Well tell ole' One-Eye that we need you more than the Scotland Yard."

Artemis chuckled and nodded. "Cheerio mate."

He turned to her and asked, "Can I take you home?"

Mina nodded her head and they headed out.

Mina smiled when the British man chattered all the way to her house. About London. About Scotland Yard. About his wife Luna. About Princess Diana "God rest her soul." The gallant British man walked her up to her house door and tipped his hat toward her. Mina smiled and headed to bed. Then she remembered. The moon illuminated her tear-filled eyes. She heard a bump and quickly sat up in bed, all her senses alert and screaming at her.

"Mina?"

Mina's body slumped and she murmured "yeah?"

"What happened?"

Mina didn't say anything. The silver-headed teen shuffled towards the bed and climbed in. Mina drew back the covers and they snuggled up together. They almost fell asleep when the door opened again. A small and lithe figure glided to the bed and crawled into the covers. Mina felt the comfort radiating from the twins and she felt hope burgeoning in her heart. _I'm getting out. I'm getting out now. _She smiled and snuggled up to her sisters and fell asleep, the last thought in her mind was gratefulness to the jolly, white haired man named Artemis.


End file.
